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Hard to conceive: Sometimes getting pregnant isn't easy--or possible

Alternatives such as those offered by Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha don’t work for every couple.

And in vitro fertilization (IVF) is not an easy step to take for those struggling with infertility, both because of moral and monetary concerns. Still, the desire for children, which many attribute to God, outweighs everything for couples such as the Mahons.

Patrick T. Reardon is the urban affairs writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Where do babies come from?: The church and IVF

Desperate to become parents, some Catholics are looking at science to help them conceive—despite church teaching against the process.

When Erik Zimmerman comes home at night, his 9-year-old son Oscar asks him how the day went and what he had for lunch.

Oscar is a compassionate boy who’s good at sports, says Zimmerman, who lives in Cincinnati. Indeed, the proud father says, “He’s passionate about golf, and he’s been playing competitively for three years now.”

Patrick T. Reardon is the urban affairs writer for the Chicago Tribune.

How parishes can help infertile couples

These are just some of the ways that the parish can be a resource to couples experiencing infertility.

• Raise the issue of infertility at the pre-Cana marriage preparation meetings. It would alert couples to the reality that conceiving a baby isn’t always easy, while providing an opportunity to walk through the do’s and don’ts of church teaching.

• Establish a diocesan network of support for infertile couples, regardless of what treatment choices they have made or are considering.

Patrick T. Reardon is the urban affairs writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Hard to conceive: Sometimes getting pregnant isn't easy--or possible

Alternatives such as those offered by Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha don’t work for every couple.

And in vitro fertilization (IVF) is not an easy step to take for those struggling with infertility, both because of moral and monetary concerns. Still, the desire for children, which many attribute to God, outweighs everything for couples such as the Mahons.

Patrick T. Reardon is the urban affairs writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Wrongful death

"Honorable people have disagreed about the justice of executing the guilty," Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J. writes in her new book The Death of Innocents (Random House, 2005), "but can anyone argue about the justice of executing the innocent?"

Twelve years after her first book, Dead Man Walking (Random), became a surprise bestseller and 10 years after the release of the award-winning movie based on that book, Prejean has written a sequel that once again turns the spotlight on the practice of capital punishment in the United States.

A perfect joy: A child with Down's syndrome

Are our ethics keeping pace with the current genetic revolution?

Fifty years ago, when geneticist James Watson and physicist Francis Crick uncovered the structure of DNA, they proudly declared, “We have found the secret of life.” Thus began the race to map the genetic code that determines who we are, what we look like, how long we’ll live, and what’s in store for our children and grandchildren. As that mapping is virtually completed today, we find ourselves in the discomfiting and morally perilous position of having our ethics outpaced by our research.

A perfect joy: A child with Down's syndrome

Are our ethics keeping pace with the current genetic revolution?

Fifty years ago, when geneticist James Watson and physicist Francis Crick uncovered the structure of DNA, they proudly declared, “We have found the secret of life.” Thus began the race to map the genetic code that determines who we are, what we look like, how long we’ll live, and what’s in store for our children and grandchildren. As that mapping is virtually completed today, we find ourselves in the discomfiting and morally perilous position of having our ethics outpaced by our research.